Finland licenses Onkalo spent nuclear fuel repository
Finland has granted an operating licence for Onkalo, set to be the world's first permanent underground repository for spent nuclear fuel.
The story in focus
Finland granted an operating licence for Onkalo in western Finland, which is set to become the world's first permanent underground repository for spent nuclear fuel, according to Al Jazeera. The licence does not itself permit opening, and Posiva said no exact start date has been decided.
- Finland's government granted the Onkalo licence on Thursday, Posiva said.
- Onkalo has space for 6,500 tonnes of uranium and will store spent fuel from Finland's five reactors.
- The licence does not allow the facility to open; Posiva said no exact date has been decided.
Licence granted but start date undecided
Finland has granted an operating licence for Onkalo, an underground repository for spent nuclear fuel in western Finland, waste management company Posiva said, according to Al Jazeera. The government handed over the licence on Thursday, 22 years after construction began.
The licence does not allow the facility to open. Posiva said it expects operations to start soon, but no exact date has been decided. Before final disposal begins, the company said it will complete commissioning tests and inspections that the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, STUK, must verify and approve.
Capacity and design
According to Posiva, Onkalo has space for 6,500 tonnes of uranium and will provide permanent storage for spent fuel from Finland's five nuclear reactors. The fuel is to be enclosed in copper canisters and lowered into holes drilled into the bedrock, which are then filled with bentonite clay and sealed with a steel-reinforced concrete plug.
Al Jazeera reported that the waste will remain highly radioactive for tens of thousands of years, with levels after about 100,000 years roughly matching the uranium ore from which the fuel was made, according to Posiva. The site's cost has been estimated at $1.16bn.
Final repositories are being built in other countries including Sweden and France, but Finland is expected to be the first to open one, Al Jazeera reported.
What does Finland's Onkalo licence allow?
It grants an operating licence for the underground repository but does not permit it to open. Posiva said commissioning tests and inspections must still be completed and verified by STUK before disposal begins.
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